The Russian government says NATO’s recent adoption of a new anti-Russia strategy proved that Moscow made the right decision in cutting ties with the military alliance.
Speaking to a press briefing session in Moscow on Friday, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “Russia has never had any illusions about NATO. We know the nature of this alliance... This alliance was not created for peace, it was conceived, designed, and created for confrontation.”
Peskov’s comments came after NATO defense ministers agreed on a new strategy this week to counter any potential Russian attack on multiple fronts.
The move was followed by Moscow’s suspension of its diplomatic mission to the US-led military alliance, which came in response to the expulsion of Russian diplomats over espionage allegations. Russia had denied the allegations as groundless.
“There is no need for dialog under these conditions, and (the adoption of) such a concept by NATO confirms it once again,” Peskov added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, proposed talks with Russia, saying, “The relationship between NATO and Russia is now at the lowest point since the end of the Cold War. For us, that’s actually not an argument against dialog.”
Russia has long run an observer mission to the alliance as part of a two-decade-old NATO-Russia Council meant to promote cooperation in common security areas. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, however, said on Monday that “recent moves” by NATO had left no “basic conditions for common work” any more.